Thankful Children

20 Nov Thankful Children

As we approach Thanksgiving, we are all preparing the food, some may be preparing for their Black Friday plans and all of us are knowing that the time from Thanksgiving to Christmas will pass very quickly. Stop and pause. What are you Thankful for? What do you teach your children to be Thankful for?

Developing a sense of gratitude is important for children to learn and very able to learn at a young age. Some claim that gratitude is the “secret to a happy life.”

1. Show them you are Thankful. Display your own gratitude. Children look up to their parents, teachers, grandparents, etc and we can show them how we show our gratitude. Daily there are opportunities such as “I am so thankful that we had another beautiful day before the rain came.” or “I am so thankful that you helped me clean up dinner.” Start with little things. Your child will see you thankful for the little things in life.

2. Sharing what you are thankful for as a family. Whether it is during your ride home from school or at the dinner table. Start a tradition for “What are you thankful for?” We also use “what was your high today?” It opens up communication with your child but also teaches them to reflect on their day.

3. Read books. Two fold bonus! Reading with your children as well as reading books with great lessons. The Bear Says Thanks,Thanksgiving is for giving Thanks, and The Thankful Book are all great opportunities.

4. Teach them not to complain. Teach them to appreciate things rather than wishing they had something else. This is something we can implement at a young age and curb the “not enough” attitude. One thing to try with children 3+ is try to go one evening, one morning, one day, one weekend, one week without complaining. They can only say something nice about their lives.